Stability
by Sukila
Summary: This is the story about how Sapphire and Ruby fell in love and decided to become Garnet permanently, taking you through the ups and downs of the war, the loss of many friends through out it, as well as their time on the Homeworld. Several background pairings. REWRITE IN PROGRESS UNDER "Stability (Rewrite)"
1. Prologue

Stability

**Prologue:**

War, although it was inevitable, seeing friends die is never something you wish to get used to. Garnet stood on a cliff, overlooking the sea and was caught in her many thoughts. Her long black hair was being pulled by the wind and into her face. She pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket and placed them carefully on her face. Through their purple shading she could still see the ruins in the distance with her perfect vision. A single tear dropped from her blue-colored eye and as it fell, she felt as if she was like that droplet of water, despite her fusion at this moment she felt...fragile. A bright white light covered her body as Ruby and Sapphire separated into two once more. Ruby looked at Sapphire, completely silent as she helped her from the ground.

"Are...you okay?" she asked slowly. Sapphire looked at her with tears in her eyes and ran up to Ruby, pulling her into a hug.

"She's really gone, just gone" Sapphire whispered as she fell to her knees, "They killed her, it only took a single second for them to smash her gem..." Ruby attempted to comfort her as Pearl and Emerald looked on in their own sadness. Rose slowly approached them, she hummed a sweet melody, Ruby kissed the tears from Sapphire's face as they both sunk to the floor. Sapphire hummed the same melody, remembering their fallen comrade as Ruby looked into the distance, anger clearly showed on her face, replacing the previous panic.

_"How dare they hurt Sapphire this way,"_ Ruby thought, as she looked at the tired face of her greatest friend. Sapphire's singing slowed and was silenced as she feel into a shaky sleep, her normal calmness once again showed on her face, replacing the previous distress. Ruby sat in silence, so as not to wake her, more than anything she wished to calm the fear and anger inside her; which clashed endlessly. Ruby stood up slowly with Sapphire in her arms, she didn't like to be apart like this but a fusion is hard to maintain when grief is present, Ruby was too unfocused anyway. She wished more than anything she could keep Sapphire safe on her own but her own powers were not enough, at least, not alone.

/

Rose was a little shocked to see this side of the impulsive gem, Ruby. However this scene really did prove that their decision to stay a fusion was the right one.

"_After all, they have a love truer than any two gems she could think of_," she convinced herself, still remembering the moment when they told her they had found something special through their combination. Although back then she doubted it, now she knew, once this was over Rose was positive that they would stay as Garnet forever if they could; or at least they would always be together.

/

Pearl and Emerald watched as the two gems had their moment as Rose looked on, most likely in thought. They looked at each other, the two gems had never been through anything like this before, but they did agree with a simple synchronized nod of both their heads that this was a sad day in gem history for all of them, but they could not stay here without risk of being found. Emerald slowly approached Rose, her dark green hair was blown to the side, emphasizing her serious expression which turned to a soft one as she spoke in a saddened tone,

"Rose, I know this is hard for all of us, but if we don't get moving then our friend will have died in vain." Rose looked down as she caught a glance of Ruby, who had fallen asleep with tears still glistening on her face. She sighed and after a moment of thought decided that they needed this, maybe even more than the entire team needs to not be caught by the enemy.

"Very well," she said slowly, her voice filled with sympathy, "But we can't wake them." Emerald nodded as she and Pearl began to pack up the equipment.


	2. Chapter 1

Stability

**Chapter 1:**

Sapphire felt the cool breeze on her face as she sat on the tall cliff that overlooked the large lake, which held water that was perfectly clear and reflected the light of the moon in a very beautiful manner, her legs were dangling over the edge and her blue dress allowed her bare feet to hang visibly.

She watched as the many blue colored crystal flowers from the tree above released their petals that danced gracefully in the wind.

She heard a small noise from below, gems were tuning their instruments for fusion practice on the pavilion in the middle of the shining lake, Sapphire had never liked the idea of her mind combining with another, much less her entire being.

Instead she came on the cliff every night to dance to the music in her own way; gems that couldn't (or wouldn't) fuse weren't allowed to come without special permission anyway.

She swung her legs back onto the ground and stood as the song began, it was a classical one, involving a large orchestra. Although this wasn't her favorite type of music she began her movements, she mostly danced ballet to these songs since she had no partner.

/

Ruby sat on the sidelines of the fusion dance, she was too short to find a suitable dancing partner, even among all these gems.

This kind of thing wasn't what Ruby liked anyway, she preferred combat practice any day; especially when she was underestimated.

_"Proving people wrong, now that's fun!"_ she thought, holding back a laugh as she did.

Ruby had decided long ago that this was pointless without a partner she could actually tolerate, since she wasn't the most agreeable person she had failed every time she had tried to fuse.

Because of this Moonstone, who taught the arts of fusion and strategy, and Jasper, who heightened skill in combat and stamina, had agreed on something for once, that Ruby needed to watch gems dance for hours on end instead of resting up for early morning training.

Ruby groaned as she began to become bored and decided to watch the sky instead of the dancers in front of her.

As she gazed absentmindedly Ruby noticed a beautiful blue glimmer coming from the hill, a gem was up on the cliff overlooking the lake, dancing.

Ruby watched as she gracefully danced ballet, and although she hated ballet, it was the most beautiful dance she had ever seen.

As the blue gem was also implementing elements of jazz and freestyle dancing, (Kind of like the dancing Stevonnie did), which together looked, just, amazing.

Ruby stood up from the bench on the side of the pavilion and decided to learn fusion dancing from watching her instead,as she jumped onto the small islands that shaped into a path to allow gems to get back to land without having to get wet.

She then climbed the cliff, slowly and silently and, somehow made her way up the large tree on the edge without the gem blue seeing, now that she had a clear look of her she could tell the gem has pale blue skin, and white, fluffy hair that covers the upper half of her face.

She wears a floor-length, sleeveless dress that is dark blue with two light-blue stripes at the bottom. A light-blue cloth is wrapped around the waist tightly and ties into a bow at the back. The same color can also be seen on the two ties that tightly bind the front of her fluffy hair into two separate pony-tails and on the armbands that cover both of her upper-arms. She also wears white gloves. (Youtube: steven universe comic 16 | By: MALACHITE GEM)

She sat silently, and watched her dance.

/

Sapphire changed her dance as she heard the music change to her favorite style, syntheses. She sings the tune loudly as she moves by sliding and jumping instead of the previous gracefulness she goes with the wind instead of the beat.

She kept this up, changing her movements and singing every time the music or wind changed, due to the fun she having, she didn't even notice Ruby, watching from the tree above.

Sweat came sliding down her face as Sapphire let go of all of her anger from being called a "weakling," at combat practice, her sadness from being ordered to practice combat in place of her usual lessons, and her moment of disappointment when Jasper had told her she had "decent," stamina, despite her outrunning all the other gems.

As the fusion practice ended and gems began to leave, she sat back down on the edge of the cliff and thought about practice from yesterday.

"I'm not a weakling," she said in a sad tone, "I'm not a weakling!" she repeated, this time shouting it in anger.

"You think you know what I'm made of?" she shouted to no one as she though about Jasper's comments from that day,

"Well I'm so much more than what you think, I may only be able to make a single gauntlet, but I am so much more than the gem I am during your practice!" she vented loudly.

"**And if you can't see that then just leave me ALONE!**"

Sapphire stomped her foot on cliff, shaking it with the force of her anger, which she constantly tried to control, to keep her calm nature; but that didn't matter when she was alone.

She could be the finally let out her fury to...no one.

There was no one to comfort her in her sadness, no one to tell her everything was okay, and no one to help her calm down,

"**My name is Sapphire!**" she stated, shouting once again, into the night-sky before sinking to her knees and beginning to sob, "And all I want is a friend," she whispered through blinding tears as she suffered, all alone.

/

"Sapphire," she whispered silently to herself.

Now she remembered who this gem was, yesterday she had been yelled at countless times by Jasper, after practice she had been caught in an onslaught of insults and rude comments from other gems, then she had been called to the Main Hall and had left with a noticeable slouch, which was a lot for the, normally calm, cool, and collected gem.

Ruby watched her sob on the cliff through her own sadness, it was as if this gem's feelings were being given to her as she imagined what everyday being like the one Sapphire had yesterday, by now Ruby would definitely have run out of patience too; probably a lot sooner than now.

/

Sapphire was now sitting on her knees with her face held forward as tears streamed from her face to the ground, she attempted to stand but was, for some reason, very dizzy.

Sapphire figured her hazy vision was just due to her watering eyes but this was unexplainable. Suddenly she her head felt as if she had fallen off the cliff and landed on it, she cried out in agony as white, hot pain suddenly filling it to the brim.

Dark spots began to appear in her vision as strange images filled her mind, gems looking at her in a strange way and asking so many questions at the same time that she could not understand any of them, gems fighting as if they planned to kill each other, herself fighting a gem through vision so blurry she could not recognize them, herself falling falling after being struck by a blade, a barrage of arrows heading straight for her.

She heard someone, that sounded far away, scream her name. A flash of red filled her blurry vision, just as she fell into darkness.

/

Ruby space-out as she thought of Sapphire's reaction to her horrible day and how it was perfectly normal for most gems, but not Sapphire, she had never even seen her smile when she was happy.

"_I__f she's ever been happy_," Ruby wondered until her she remembered what Sapphire had said, "_What did she say one gauntlet, that's just like me-!_"

Ruby's wandering thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Sapphire falling to the ground after attempting to get up, Ruby could practically feel her confusion as she got back onto her hands and knees, panting heavily.

The blue gem's pupils dilated until her irises were nothing more than a small ring, Sapphire then screamed as if she had just been thrown into a wall embedded with sharp spikes.

Forgetting the fact that she was hiding, Ruby quickly ran up to her,

"Are you okay?" she asked in a panicked way, "**Sapphire?!**"

Sapphire then collapsed, her eyes slowly closing as Ruby yelled her name again and again.

"I need to get help," Ruby quickly told herself, she looked down briefly at Sapphire and began to run to the Main Hall, "_Please_," she pleaded, "_Hang in there._"


	3. Chapter 2

Stability

**Chapter 2:**

Sapphire slowly opened her eyes, her vision still very hazy, pain striking her head when she moved, and she felt very weak. Putting all of this aside she still tried to stand, as no one was in the room except a red gem who was splayed over a chair next to the bed she was lying on, fast asleep.

However as soon as she put weight on her legs they toppled, causing her to need to clutch onto the post of the bed. Feeling as though all of her limbs were noting more than gel she, once again, attempted to take a step and failed miserably; defeated she sat on the edge of the bed, her lower half dangling due to her shortness.

She ran a hand through her long, light blue hair, wondering what to do to pass the time. She looked down at the red gem she had noticed earlier, who has light red skin and dark maroon hair.

She wears a violet-red tank-top and shorts that appear lighter in color certain places almost making it seem that she was wearing a body-suit. Violet-red boots adorned her feet and a light-red, almost pink ribbon was tied around her forehead and hair like a headband. On her upper waist was a lighter colored belt that had a piece of cloth attached to it that matched her headband and hung down her front, like a half-skirt. She also had bandages wrapped around her hands and lower arms. (Youtube: steven universe comic 16 | By: MALACHITE GEM)

Sapphire was wondering what she was doing here, as the blue gem had no clue who she was, or even her name.

"_Come to think of it_," she thought to herself in wonder, "_What did happen to me?_" she asked herself, as if looking for answers from her brain. Just then the red gem began to rouse, interrupting her thought, Sapphire immediately laid down, feigning sleep and listened carefully.

/

Ruby could hear footsteps outside Sapphire's room, she was waiting with her but...she feel asleep. Since the blue gem had no real friends, Ruby had decided to wait with her,

"_Maybe this will make up for me spying on her_," She thought in silence, "_But I could have sworn I had heard her wake-up; after all_ _It's not like gems need that much sleep_," she looked at Sapphire as her chest rose and fell at slow intervals.

"I'm sorry," Ruby told her, as if she could hear, "I know you've had it rough, maybe I can fix that, maybe I-" She was interrupted as the door came open and a pink gem came in, probably to check on Sapphire.

She has very long, shiny, curly pink hair styled in thick, but neat ringlets and pink lips, and light pinkish-peach skin. She is very tall and wears a floor-length, sleeveless, dark-pink dress that ruffles at the bottom and forms a triangle of darker pink at the bottom-center. It has a diamond-shaped hole for her pink gem which is located on her stomach. At the top see-through, light-pink material covers what should be bare skin, as well as her lower neck and ends with a strip of pink ribbon at the edge. She also wears white gloves that only cover her index finger at the top part with a strip of pink at the edge. On her head, to separate her bangs in the middle of her hair is a white tiara that had a rose hair-clip attached to it so it covered the center. Ruby assumed she wore shoes due to the gentle clacking of heels she made when she walked on the metal floor. (Homeworld Rose Quartz by: sogequeen2550 on Deviantart)

"How is she doing?" Ruby asked slowly, as if afraid of the answer that would come.

"She'll be okay, no need to worry," The pink gem replied, Ruby sighed, for some reason she now felt very relaxed and had immediately thought this gem's word to be the truth.

"I'm Rose Quartz," Ruby jumped at the pink gem's voice.

"...I'm-" she hesitantly began to answer, as if afraid she wasn't supposed to be here.

"I remember you!" she suddenly exclaimed in a very excited manner, "I used to supervise the Kindergarden you came from, Ruby...right?" Ruby looked up in surprise.

"_She really remember_ _me_?_ Does she remember all the gems she supervised_?"

"It's so good to see you again, I didn't recognize you at first, I kinda figured you would be a bit more grown next time I saw you so it was a bit surprising..." Rose stated apologetically, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled, feigning annoyance as she held back giggles, "I'll have you know I've at least grown in demeanor!" Rose nodded her head and smiled, though her eyes showed sadness as she compared the now anger-controlled, serious, and withheld gem in front of her to the boisterous, happy-go-lucky, and curious gem she once knew. Ruby stopped her laughter, after seeing Rose's face darken and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but right at that moment Sapphire began to awaken.

/

Sapphire had actually fallen asleep once more as she was trying to listen and had forgotten to stay silent the second time she woke and didn't seem to remember what they had said anyway. She slowly sat up, groaning loudly as she felt intense pain in her head, a bit confused of where she was for a few moments. A pink gem, immediately came up to her.

"Are you feeling okay now?" she asked with a sympathetic tone and an apologetic expression that was replaced with one of deep concern after seeing the blue gem wince in pain at the volume of her voice.

"Actually," Sapphire responds in a completely calm tone of voice, "I feel like I was just knocked unconscious by a large weapon of some sort, What am I doing here anyway?"

"Do you remember what happened?" the red gem she vaguely remembered from before asked her with a questioning look, Sapphire looked down at the floor, still thinking of the horrible images that filled her mind,

"Well I did see, something..." she stated, hesitantly.

Both gems leaned in closer to Sapphire as she almost inaudibly whispered the parts of the horror she unfortunately remembered from her attack, they both looked at her with a shocked expression.

"We need to take her to the main hall, right away..." The pink gem stated grimly, as if she dreaded having to take Sapphire back to the place where she had seen her get her hopes dashed once before, she looked at Sapphire, expecting a reaction of anger or sadness, one was there for all but a second before was quickly washed away when eyes were settled on her, and she nodded regretfully agreeing with Rose's decision.

As Sapphire stood she, again, fell to her knees, Ruby soon helped her up, keeping Sapphire's right arm draped over her shoulders in order to support her, holding her hand tightly in an assuring way.

/

"Oh, and by the way," Ruby began introducing herself, "I'm Ruby and she's Rose Quartz,"

"Sapphire" She quietly responded with a strained voice that made her sound as though she was going to cry. Ruby grasped her hand harder and she tensed and pulled her hand away. Ruby thought she was going to reject the offer of support but instead the blue gem quickly intertwined their fingers in a firm hold, as though she was afraid Ruby would be the one to let go this time but instead Ruby returned the gesture confidently, in a protective manner.

"_Maybe I can figure her out someday_," Ruby thought silently to herself as they walked slowly down the hall. Ruby stole a look at Rose and noticed the recognition on her face as she hid the looks she gave Sapphire by pretending to look for the right route in the hall, "_Or maybe I can just ask Rose..._"

/

Determined Intellectuals Aiding Mishap Ordeals of Nuisance or Destruction (D.I.A.M.O.N.D.) Was all one organization made to help deal with off-planet and on-planet emergencies, and ran the government in general on Home World.

They took care of problems; riots, natural disasters, wars, etc. Luckily the Main Hall was located here as well, where gems are called for certain ordeals to be solved; also it was where emergency, special, and/or abnormal information came to be dealt with by the Grand Council in the Council Room, those gems that deal with most large ordeals like this, and also decide final judgment for criminals, they _were_ the Diamonds after all...

Normally one cannot simply enter without being called, but due to "Rose's" assignment she was sure it would be okay, she only hoped the council wouldn't be too hard on her for interrupting.


	4. Chapter 3

Stability

**Chapter 3:**

Sapphire, whilst supported by Ruby walked through the long hall which led into the only entrance of the Council Building she calmly walked into a large, intimidating, circular room with a dome-like roof, a rotunda, large crystals hung from the ceiling to form a chandelier shape that produced a spotlight inside the dark room, as if to insure that the Council was always over-shadowed and those accused in this room of judgement were always in a spotlight.

The crystals at the base of the chandelier arched across the ceiling and snaked down the large pillars, the area between these pillars was covered by a thin wall of frosted glass that was cyan in coloration and made the pillars appear to be only half-pillars the only supported from the inside, as if the world outside no longer existed when a being was to step inside the Council Building. Sapphire gazed in awe at the magnificent architecture, a small gasp escaped her lips and echoed about the room.

"It's beautiful," she stated quietly, unable to resist expressing her interest after which, Rose quickly put a finger to her lips, implying the need to stay quiet as they listened to the faint voices from the shadows at the entrance.

/

Ruby ignored the two as they quietly gave each other hand signals, and urged her ears to hear the people in the lighter part of the room as they conversed,

"We need to...No...But we can't...It must be done," were the only words she could catch from the three Council members that hid in the shadows, in front of them a purple gem laid on the floor staring at the ceiling, which had an intricate pattern of diamonds in many different colors covering it. She was very short, obviously nothing more than a child and therefore had a very short attention-span.

She was dressed in a blueish purple leotard with a diamond-shaped hole for the purple gemstone on her chest and then wrapped around her neck, a matching cloth wrapped around her waist and acted like a short skirt, over it was a long, black sweater-like jacket that covered her arms, underneath it she wore baggy gray leggings and black boots. A pair of finger-less black and gray patterned gloves adorned her hands and stopped at her elbow. Her bored expression was shown in an obvious manner on her face as she pushed back her short, messy, light-purple hair and laid her hands above her head. (Inspiration: (pintrest) pin/555772410242135983/ &amp; pin/358036239104668351/)

"Hey," She stated, trying to get someone's attention, "Can we go now, come on, please?" she asked, stretching out the last part to imply her boredom even more, there was no response from the Council, only a nudge from a tall, white gem that stood behind her, obviously straining her posture in an attempt appear proper as she kept her hands folded in front of her skirt, but occasionally brushed them through her waist-length, straight but wavy, slightly dark lilac hair that was held out of her face by many white ribbons with gold trimmings in order to show the smooth, white gem on her forehead.

She appeared to be guarding the purple gem, but she wore no armor or additional protection besides her clothes which consisted of an white, sleeveless shirt that tied in the back like a corset and had gold decorations on the edges and a lacy aqua skirt. Aqua, finger-less gloves wrapped around her arms up to her shoulders. White, see-through tights, and aqua flats could be seen under the skirt. Covering her upper-body and over-lapping her gloves was a white jacket which was the same material as her tights but was loser around her figure. (Inspiration: (pintrest) pin/490610953138184020/)

Beside the white gem stood an equally tall, green gem her hair medium-length hair was the color of grass and a black headband kept her bangs out of her face. She wore a black, long-sleeved shirt with a pattern of white diamonds on the front, a pair of loose-fitting, dark-green pants, black boots, and dark-green gloves.

A square-shaped, green colored gem, jutted out from the back of her forearm, her seriousness was emphasized by her crossed arms and anger-filled expression. She stared at the purple gem as if she was staring down a rebellious teenager that needed to be punished and she was the one who was bringing her towards it. After what seemed like an eternity, the Council stopped whispering and faced the purple gem once more.

"**Despite her obvious failures**," One spoke loudly, "**We will allow this gem to live**," This last comment echoed through-out the room,

"Emerald, escort this Pearl back to White Diamond's quarters and take the Amethyst to the trainee dorm to get her settled in, she starts next rotation," the yellow gem at the side of the room stated, she was Citrine, the famous captain of the guards.

She wore an orange, military-style uniform with a single silver medal with a brightly colored, red ribbon attached to it, black boots, and an eye-patch across her left eye, (which held her yellow, hexagon-shaped gem). Her long, yellow hair was put up in a ponytail, with many small braids within it which each had a golden chain and a charm intertwined within it.

"Come on let's go!" The purple gem shouted, obviously excited as she grabbed the white gem's hand. Pearl was pulled along forcefully but made no move to stop the short gem from leading her forward, remaining completely composed, keeping on her fake smile and content, yet seemingly empty, expression. Citrine said nothing as Emerald left the room with Pearl and Amethyst in tow, and although they had already left, a few seconds later, Ruby could still hear the cheerful comments from the boisterous purple gem,

"_Finally!_" was her only thought, as they had been waiting for nearly an hour and she had been growing impatient, Ruby looked up at Rose, expecting her to speak, but she remained silent and held up her finger to show they would have to wait, Ruby crossed her arms, pouting, and sat on the floor next to Sapphire.

/

Sapphire had been waiting patiently and silently, even after Rose had made her sit on the floor after she had become dizzy, and she could barely make out Ruby, through the darkness and her unclear vision, as she sat down next to her with her arms crossed, even without her sight she could tell Ruby was too impatient to wait through this without stirring. Sapphire sighed quietly.

"_I'm starting to get woozy_," she thought to herself, urgently, "_I hope I don't have another of those strange hallucinations...no, **they were visions**!_" As if on cue of this discovery she felt her eyes close and she inaudibly gasped as a dull pain filled her head as images flashed in her mind, she once again saw herself being questioned, except this time Sapphire addressing the Council with a red gem, at her side who she quickly recognized as Ruby from the sound of her voice, as the world around her is still obscured; who was yelling loudly, as if trying to make a statement that everyone on Home world. Sapphire felt something shake her shoulders lightly as the vision turned into darkness she opened her eyes to find she was being awoken by Rose,

"Come on," she said slowly in a calm tone of voice, soothing Sapphire out of her state of shock, "Its okay," she stated as she helped Sapphire to her feet, "We need to explain what you saw now," Rose stroked her hair and held out her hand, Sapphire took it and Rose lead her to the light of the room where Ruby was already standing. Sapphire quickly made her way over, standing behind the red gem, who stood in front of her, protectively, as for some reason she felt oddly close to her, despite them meeting only hours ago.

"**Why have you come before us, unannounced**," One of the voices of the Council Members demanded, obviously annoyed at the interruption caused by their arrival. Rose stepped forward, "We...have come about her," she stated, pointing to Sapphire, slightly hesitating, showing her intimidation. At this Sapphire stepped forward from behind Ruby to face the dark silhouettes, still hidden by the darkness of the room.

"It's about, what she saw."

"**Why does this concern us?**"

"Well...it's about the future...of our planet," Rose replied slowly, knowing the seriousness of this claim, "Sapphire..." she whispered, beckoning the blue gem to speak.

Sapphire attempted to step forward again before Ruby grabbed her arm, giving her a look of, "_Careful about what you say_," Sapphire smiled at her, reassuring the worried gem, she told them the only vision she remembered properly in her hazy state.

"I saw gems, they fought with the intent to kill," keeping her voice calm, despite the fact that inside, fear struck into her at the thought of her vision becoming the truth, "I saw a possible future; one of war," she finished and she could hear an audible gasp echo across the room from Rose, Ruby, and although they were shrouded in darkness she could tell the Council was also shocked at this development.

"**You know we can't allow this to go on**, **unless you can halt** **these visions further**..." A different one was speaking in a unwavering and venom-filled tone, "**We'll have to shatter you**"


	5. Chapter 4

Stability

**Chapter 4:**

Anger, Ruby could feel inside her as Sapphire sunk to the ground and sat on her knees, a look of shock on her face as she stared at her hands, attempting to make them stop trembling in fear. Ruby looked at the blue gem as she panicked and then back to the Council's dark silhouettes,

"**Why?**" was all she said through her blinding anger, as a look of disdain appeared on her face, the Council did not answer her, which only made her rage build-up, "**Why are you doing this?!**" she questioned, once again, still attempting to contain herself, to contain her fury, to keep it inside of herself. Rose quickly ran up to her and grasped her arm, holding Ruby back from doing something that would get her in even more trouble and hastily whispered.

"Ruby, you can't question them," Ruby looked back at her, as Rose gazed at her, sympathetically. Ruby's expression quickly dropped into one of pure dread, a heartbroken feeling already showing in her eyes as she glanced at the shaking blue gem.

"But...you and her are the only friends I have," Ruby replied almost inaudibly, "The only people that have never betrayed me, have been always been there for me." Rose embraced her, comforting the, now sobbing, gem as she looked at Sapphire, who looked to be, for the first time ever, filled with fear.

/

Sapphire was still shaking, she couldn't get herself to sit still as terror engulfed her every being.

"_I don't wanna die_," was her only though as sobs racked her body, she looked up briefly as a hand was put on her shoulder, Rose stood next to her and wrapped her arms around Sapphire, who did not react as she tried to comfort the blue gem through her violent shaking, fast and heavy breathing, and look of horror was now permanently showing on her face. Ruby stood in front of Sapphire, her tears now dried as she held her ground and protected the frightened gem. Citrine slowly walks up to them as Ruby summons her single gauntlet on her left palm,

"_Oh come on!_" Ruby scolded herself through her thoughts, "_Even when I'm trying to protect my friend I can't make the second one!_" Citrine looks at her with sympathy that she is obviously trying to hide as she approaches the frightened blue gem and the short red one, but this sympathy is quickly masked by seriousness as she prepares for a fight.

She quickly summons her weapon, a yellow war-hammer, which was covered in an intricate design of straight, orange lines and a long handle which bulged out at regular intervals, near the bottom of the gray, staff-like handle was a rubbery area so the user could grip it from the end if the staff if they wished, Ruby stared at the weapon.

"_Why would she even need to grip it from the bottom?_" she wondered before quickly dashing away the thought so she could focus on her opponent, she quickly glanced over at Sapphire, who was still quivering as she clung to Rose in her state of shock.

"_Well I guess they're to busy to help_," Ruby figured, now knowing she wouldn't have any back-up if this went badly, "_It's not like I'll need help_," she told herself, now brimming with confidence as she tightened both her hands into fists, concentrating as she closed her eyes, feeling a tingling sensation as she opened her eyes and saw that she had summoned another gauntlet and had to deter herself from yelling in triumph.

Ruby quickly re-focused herself as Citrine and her now walked in circles, waiting for the person who will strike first. Citrine grasped her hammer tightly as she swiftly ran at Ruby, not hesitating. Ruby, however expected her attack and quickly dodged the hammer as Citrine attempted to get her in the side and re-bounded by quickly throwing a punch at her opponent's face. Citrine stepped back, grimacing but she soon recovered and detached the hammer from the handle,

"I think you broke it!" she heard Ruby yell, taunting her as she carefully let the long chain drop from inside the handle to the floor,

"No way!" she yelled back, "**I'm just getting started!**"

Ruby smiled, appearing happy at the challenge as Citrine swung the hammer at her and she stopped it with her gauntlets, sliding back slightly as she stopped the weapon, and charged at Citrine, throwing the large hammer-head at her as she did. Citrine quickly dodged but was caught in the stomach by a powerful punch from Ruby, who had caught her off-guard.

Citrine used this moment to her advantage as she swung her weapon, once again, and knocked over Ruby with the chain. Ruby slowly picked herself up and she did Citrine had quickly re-attached the hammer-head and smashed the large war-hammer against the red gem's back, then using it to hit her in the chest to fling her across the room. Ruby's head smashed against a pillar and she quickly fell into darkness.

/

Sapphire watched as her only friend was thrown into a pillar, Ruby had immediately gone unconscious as Sapphire and Rose looked on in horror. Citrine approached Sapphire slowly, an angered look in her eyes as she had her war-hammer retreat into her gem, she now held a small device, it was a large rod that shined with a bright-blue light and sparked at the end,

Sapphire already knew what was coming as she backed away in fear, she shot backwards in a burst of spear before she felt herself being struck by Citrine's weapon. She stumbled back, clutching her ankle for a split second before scrambling backwards. She looked to Rose, her face pleading for her help, as Citirine's heavy steps echoed on the floor and they yellow gem regained her weapon.

Rose merely turned her head down and looked away, not wishing to witness what would happen to Sapphire as she glanced briefly at the unconscious red gem. Citrine looked at Sapphire with disdain as she crawled back in terror. Sapphire's body was immediately filled with electricity as she felt Citrine's weapon hit her once again, and when the shock had finally ended her body was smoking and badly singed as she laid on the floor, reaching her arm out towards Rose in a silent plead for her to stop this before she felt her head erupt in pain and everything went dark.

Rose looked at her, tears sparkling in her eyes, she sank to the floor, letting her tears flow from her cheeks and drop onto the white, pristine tiles. Citrine quickly slung Sapphire, then Ruby, over her shoulder, and then exited the room via a hidden door that lead to the prison.

"_They don't deserve this, I have to stop this somehow_," Rose told herself, "_But why didn't I?_" She slowly asked herself, and although she tried, no answer came to her, she had left them to die; and now the fate of both of these young, innocent, gems...**was sealed.**


	6. Chapter 5

Stability

**Chapter 5:**

Ruby sat up in shock, and immediately surveyed the room around her and as she frantically looked about, remembering the battle she recently had lost. The room she was in was a simple, rectangular shape and looked to be made of a hard, metallic material that was extremely well cleaned and was gray in coloration.

There was no door, but Ruby could tell that the wall slide open on one end due to a slight indentation in the thick wall. The red gem became angered by her loss in that important fight and quickly bashed the wall with her right hand, which she had curled into a fist, resulting in a large amount of shaking; but the wall remained unscathed. Ruby groaned in frustration as she looked about the room.

"_I have to find Sapphire_," she frantically though, "_I need to save her!_" Ruby kept running about until she found some sort of panel, hidden in the corner of the bare room, she tore it off immediately; inside was nothing but a mess of wires. Ruby quickly dug her right hand into the wire nest and ripped out any she could find, the lights in the room started flickering.

However as hard as she tried, Ruby could not open the door, so instead she clambered into the shaft, which was surprisingly large, and made her way through it, climbing under and over any other wires she came into contact with, as Ruby did not wish to alert anyone of where she was, luckily the sparks that were spraying from the wires she had torn out were not affecting her.

She was startled by the loud noise of an alarm sounding, no doubt they had found her missing from her cell, Ruby started to run, as the shaft was tall enough to allow a fair amount of movement for a short gem, like her.

"Don't worry Sapphire" she told herself, speaking almost inaudibly, "**I'm coming**"

/

Sapphire awoke on the floor, she was in a very small room, probably a holding cell. The room itself had a gray, metallic look and instead of a wall, in the front was a window, paneled several times over by light-blue glass. Sapphire's hands feel the glass out of impulse, it was smooth, extremely thick, and very strong, there was no way she could break it in her current state. Despite her own mind's judgment, she attempted to summon one of her dark-blue gauntlets and...failed.

"Of course..." she told herself aloud, as she realized her gem powers had temporarily disabled with the shock she had received from Citrine to prevent any escape attempts. Sapphire, although discouraged, fought those doubts with determination as the desire to live filled her every being, she pressed her gem to her opposite forearm and filled it with power, light enveloped her as she summoned her blue weapon on the opposite hand, although it was much harder than usual.

"Good," she told herself, sighing in relief, "I wasn't sure if that would work." Sapphire was moderately certain that she would be able to summon her weapon on her opposite hand, although it cost her most of her energy, she panted lightly as she quickly used her weapon to pound at the window in front of her, after what seemed like an eternity, cracks began to slowly spread over the surface of the window, they began to converge at one point as she continued her onslaught of attacks, until

**BAM! **

The light-blue glass broke into large pieces and parts of it shattered as it fell on the floor, just outside of the holding cell. Alarms began to sound as Sapphire clambered out of the wreckage she had left and started running, using ridiculously fast speed, she didn't even know she had, to evade any opposition. Unfortunately, Sapphire wasn't sure where to go and was soon at a dead-end, she attempted to go in the other direction, but Sapphire turned to see a large amount of Gems blocking her from getting away.

They were all wearing identical battle-armor in their own respective coloration, as well as helmets that concealed most of the guards' hair, their foreheads covered by tinted glass visors; also every guards' gem was covered by a thick pane of glass, much like the glass that was a part of Sapphire's cell.

Sapphire had no idea on how she would get out of this situation, as every guard held a spear, sword, mace, bow, battle-axe, or staff as a weapon, and Sapphire was very sure that many of the hand-held weapons probably came apart, like Citrine's weapon, which meant big trouble. A peridot soon approached her, Captain Citrine at her side, they both held shock-devices, identical to the one used on her, Sapphire shuddered as she remembered the pain she had felt,

"Come quietly," The green gem tried to reason, "You've lost," Citrine quickly added, still attempting to make Sapphire step-down without unnecessary violence.

"No I haven't," Sapphire replied calmly as she stared down Citrine, "It's time you and I had a fair fight." Citrine smiled and shoved Peridot out of the way,

"You think you're something special?" the yellow-orange gem asked, rhetorically, "Do you really think you can take me down in a fight?"

"Yes," was all Sapphire said, her voice cool and collected, her face showing no emotion as she moved her feet into a battle stance, "**Bring it on**."

/

**Earlier**

Ruby was frantically running as she attempted to find the blue gem that had been doomed by the Council. Awhile ago Ruby had finally located the vent to an unguarded and, thankfully, unlocked room, and was now making her way around the facility. She had run into no opposition during her search which was quite odd, a sudden realization struck her,

"_Maybe that alarm wasn't about m-_" her thoughts were interpreted as she passed yet another hallway and heard a sweet voice, that sounded like chiming bells and was a picture of calmness as Ruby heard the serious words.

"**Bring it on**," Ruby immediately recognized the gem in question as Sapphire from her stoic tone,

"_Wait, is her voice really that beautiful?_" Ruby snapped out of this thought as she realized what the blue gem was now doing, she was engaged in a fight with Citrine, Ruby's jaw dropped as she realized that Sapphire was winning, leaving a slight annoyance in the red gem as Ruby realized that the gem she was trying to save was now winning a fight that she had lost.

Putting this aside, Ruby felt instant relief as she watched the blue gem in her fight, a single gauntlet covering her left hand as she punched at the yellow-orange gem that wielded her own weapon, as well as some sort of strange device that looked to be full of electricity. Unfortunately it was too good to be true, as Sapphire began to tire and slip-up, sometimes striking blindly at Citrine after the yellow-orange gem spat insults at her as she attempted to throw Sapphire off-guard.

Ruby was becoming worried, Citrine obviously knew how to rattle the blue gem, and although Sapphire had always been very fast, she no longer had any time to strike between her own dodging of Citrine's onslaught of attacks as she was forced to come closer and closer to the wall. Inevitably, Sapphire was now against the wall of the hallway, Citrine had cornered her.

"Did you really think you could beat me?"

"Maybe...if it...was a...fair...fight," Sapphire responded through her own heavy panting as she fell to her knees, "...Why do I have to die?" she asked, half expecting an answer as she looked up at Citrine. Ruby could, just barely, see tears silently flow down her face then drop to the floor as Sapphire hung her head and looked at the floor. Citrine gave her a sympathetic look, before quickly replacing it with a scorn.

"I'm sorry" she told her and looked away, Sapphire's face mirrored Ruby's own look of surprise before Citrine electrocuted Sapphire and picked her up, a slight sadness still showing on her face as she carried her, bridal-style down the hall.

/

Ruby trailed Citrine and The peridot as they traveled through the intricate hallway system, but she could not hear them as they traveled towards their destination.

"Why the sudden sympathy?" The green gem inquired,

"I don't know," Citrine hesitantly responded, "I just...feel...like what I'm doing isn't right..."

"Be careful!" The peridot frantically warned Citrine, "Disobedience is punishable by death!"

"I'm aware...I just have...morals, I mean, why are we even doing this?" The peridot's gaze remained serious and hardened as she listened, "She hasn't had a fair trial or-"

"Look, all that matters now, is the mission" Citrine nodded her head, a bit amused at the peridot's attempt at being sincere. The blue gem in her arms was growing noticeably warm. As they reached the end, Citrine kicked open the double doors.

"Was that necessary?" The peridot asked in a slightly annoyed tone,

"Well I can **always** assume you'll help me" Citrine replied, her voice heavily weighed with sarcasm as she set Sapphire down, keeping the blue gem upright on her knees as she secured the small gem's hands in the restraints behind her back. Citrine stood up and waited for the council to arrive, Sapphire's head slumped forward after Citrine's support had left and she would occasionally mutter inaudible nonsense, probably due to her fever dreams.

Citrine looked down at her briefly, she looked so small, sitting there, all alone, her only comfort the dreams she could have before a permanent sleep, the only way to outlet her emotions being tears and confusion. This gem's life had turned completely upside-down, now it even left a dedicated gem like Citrine in indecision. Citrine heard foot-steps and immediately lifted her head and improved her posture, leaving her hands at her sides, she watches as two gems neither she, nor her underling expected, enter the room.

/

**Earlier**

Ruby had trailed the two gems into a large room with a circular platform in the middle that was elevated in layers with a set of stairs in front, the room looked a lot like the council room, the walls, ground and ceiling all were made of blue-pink crystal, there was thick blue glass that could be formed around the platform, which also housed restraints.

The room was in a circular shape with a control panel on the left and right sides of the room, another entrance at the opposite end. The roof of the building formed into a dome that was made of tinted, blue glass that let in bright lights from above, making the building appear more cheerful, despite its appearance. At the ceiling there was a lower part that had a window that was tinted darkly so nothing could be seen from the outside, (sort of like a one way mirror).

After taking in her surroundings, she began to observe Citrine, she seemed...upset as she gazed at, the now restrained, Sapphire, but she snapped her head up as two gems entered the room. One has an icy blue hexagon-shaped gem on her lower back (ice monster's gem from Monster Buddies), it is somewhat covered by long hair that comes past the gem's waist and is white in coloration.

She wears a white sundress with a spattering of light purple diamonds on the bottom half with a light blue sash that wraps around her middle. Ballet shoes are tied onto her lower-legs with long ribbons. A light blue bow tying off a small braid in long white hair with streaks of light blue. Her skin a light pink color with light purple, swirled markings and empty white irises filling blank eyes.

The gem besides her wears a deep blue dress, ruffled in lighter and darker shades across three layers the three layers of ruffles, it ties behind her neck in a short ribbon, long dark blue hair in a loose braid covering her back and ocean blue eyes, the same color as the seawater of her skin. (Deviantart: Lapis Re-Design by IDK-kun).

"Princess Quartz, Princess Lazuli" Citrine and Peridot say in unison, giving a salute, as they bow "Are you here for diplomatic spectating?" Angel shook her head as she motions them to rise.

"Do not misunderstand though, we are not here to watch a killing," Lapis clarifies, "We are here to observe the behavior and possible abilities of this gem and her detained friend, we would very much appreciate it if you could bring her here as well."

Peridot quickly typed out the request on her holographic, light-blue, glowing clipboard. At that moment, Sapphire began to rouse, and foot-steps, that are much louder than before, start to echo from the long hall-way. The Council was coming to start their "plans" for Sapphire, Ruby tensed at the thought and brought herself out of a crouch to her feet and readied herself to move from hiding.


	7. Chapter 6

Stability

**Chapter 6:**

It was dark and quiet, the young gem felt as if she were floating, all around her is the color blue, many different hues shined in the liquid she was submerged in.

_"What is this place?"_ was all she could think as she looked about in a daze, and as she did she noticed her light-blue hair that swayed with the tides and floated up in clumps as if it were wafting in the breeze. The blue gem snapped out of this state and tried to process what was happening, she briefly glanced down and noticed her limbs were...incomplete. Small pieces of herself, which glowed a bright green on the inside, were slowly fusing back onto her blue skin.

She continued to look in awe as this occurred, still baffled by her situation, in a small moment of confusion she reached out her left hand and it met a hard surface, she was in a bubble, a bubble in a floating sea of blueness. Realization quickly hit her.

"I'm in my gem," she stated slowly, "But then, why is it so different than before?" Normally the healing process was relatively quick in her case, but this time the sensation was...different, instead of the ice-coldness, there was warmth and the waves seemed to lull her into a sense of security, she felt so free and loose from unhappiness' grip; as if she was soaring through the sky.

Yet, she also felt hollow, as if she had lost hope of escape long before and had decided to just...stay here; forever. Sleep over-cumbered her like a heavy weight as her eyelids drooped, her physical form had finished healing, but she didn't **want** to leave anymore, to be, once again, confronted by the harshness of reality. Sapphire decided that maybe it was for the best if she let her light self float through this wonderful place, filled with bright lights and soft colors, and stay in her little bubble.

_"Just for a little while,"_ she thinks with a smile.

/

**Earlier**

Bright lights flushed into Sapphire's vision as she, once again, came-to. She has never seen this room before or additional gems that now occupied it and this...frightened her. Waking up in an unknown location tied-up was bad enough, but finding gems she can't recognize that were in a position of power normally meant trouble; or at least in her case.

Through her semi-closed eyes, she faintly noticed Ruby in the corner and hope filled her every being, as well as another emotion that was unknown to her, it was like happiness, but...better. Unfortunately flashbacks of the battles they had both fought with Citrine flooded through her mind. She scarcely knew Ruby, but already she felt the over-whelming urge to protect her from harm. She hung her head lower in doubt of both of they're abilities against these much stronger gems; especially with the great difference in numbers.

She then shook her head, forgetting the depressing thoughts as she tried to think positive, only to have those thoughts replaced by intense pressure in her head that soon turned into a painful, but familiar, headache as images began top flash through her mind. She saw Rose Quartz, and she was saying...something whilst waving a flag, but the flag was on fire. Many other gems were gathered, but before she could recognize any of them the colors blurred together and her vision ended.

_"What was that?"_ Sapphire questioned as if her mind had the answers she sought, _"Haven't I seen the flag somewhere before?"_ A realization soon came to her mind, _"That was the same flag that was in the vision of war." _"What did Rose do?"

/

'What's going on?' Ruby mouthed to Sapphire, after seeing her awaken and whisper to herself.

'I had a another vision,' A calm voice quickly mouthed. 'Ruby you have to be careful if you plan to fight, I don't think you can do it on your own' Ruby took a moment to wonder where said statement had come from before beginning her response

'...I-' The red gem flinched and backed-up as she heard light footsteps from another gem in the room and not long after she heard a loud gasp from behind. A gray sword was now impaled in the blue gem's chest and in a puff of smoke Sapphire retreated into her gem. Ruby gasped as the blue gemstone almost fell to the floor and was caught by a tall, gray-colored gem with short, black hair. She wears a black vest with a yellow rhombus badge, over a gray shirt with black pants and boots. She quickly tosses the gem to Pearl, who was guarding the entrance with Emerald, and she catches it in surprise, fumbling a bit as she does.

"Corporal Hematite?" Pearl questions quickly.

"Indeed" She replies sternly and phases her sword back into the jet-black, square gem in her left leg. "Now, enough stalling, it's time to carry out our orders, they'll be here soon" Ruby tensed at her words.

"_It's now or never_" she decides and steps out, standing her ground.

"Oh great, they both out found a way out," She states sarcastically (somehow) still maintaining an emotionless and serious tone, **"I'm having serious concerns about the security of this place."**

"You!" She points to the skittish pearl, who flinches before gingerly stepping forward with a questioning look, "Bubble that," She commands, gesturing to the blue gem in Pearl's hands. Pearl quickly follows the order, holding the bubble in a death-grip in her fear. Emerald quickly summons her weapon, and Ruby, sensing an opening, quickly ran towards them and snatched the bubble from the pearl, who flinches back with tears in her eyes. A comforting hand touches her shoulder as she trembles and she quickly sees it is Lapis comforting both her and Angel.

Ruby then broke the bubble and Sapphire's gem quickly rose and the blue gem was whole once more. After being disoriented for a brief moment she quickly notices the situation

"Ruby!" She shouts in surprise after noticing the red gem, Ruby holds out her hand to Sapphire,

"Good your okay, but I'll need your help," She states, "After all, I can't do this alone." A metaphorical fire ignites in the blue gem's being as she hears her own words being taken seriously and she grasps Ruby's hand and stands with her.

"Together?" Ruby questions.

"Together!" Sapphire reluctantly releases Ruby's hand and summons her weapons, this time making two of her finger-less gloves that were a light-blue color and weighted. Ruby also summons two weapons, gauntlets that bulged out near the bottom and came thinly together at the glove area that were two shades of dark maroon. This time they will stand as a pair and fight. **Together.**

/

Sensing the coming danger, Emerald summons her weapon, a dark-green staff that glows yellow at the tips and holds it in a defensive position in front of the two royal gems. Whilst Angel is attempting (and failing) not to panic as she stands in a bent position; panting heavily. Lapis, is holding Angel up and trying to calm down the anxious gem, whispering calming words into her ear, only half-watching the oncoming battle despite her obvious interest in the small bit of action she's actually been able to see in person.

_'Lapis, as much as I don't want to go back now, we might need help from the-'_

Angel started to gesture before instantly stopping at the signal of her blue companion who was now speaking in a hushed voice,

"You know we can't do that, as soon as the clans come they'll start asking questions,"

_'I know but-'_

"Angel I won't risk your life or mine over a simple security breach," Lapis stated seriously after interrupting the quartz gem. Angel sighed but looked up at her friend and gave her a tired smile before straightening and standing with Lapis, who was still holding her arm protectively. Angel took Pearl's hand as well, comforting the gem in her fear before gesturing her words of comfort. The white gem brightened a bit, gesturing back as the two silently laughed together; Lapis chiming in with a laugh of her own. The pearl wondered how Angel had learned the Hand-speak that originated from pearls, but didn't dare ask, lest she ruin this scarce moment of happiness in her life as an object.

/

**"STOP!"** A loud voice echoed through-out the chamber, snapping the two gems out of their thoughts and conversation, refocusing them on the previously heated battle-grounds, breaking every gem from their thoughts as the pressure once building in the room dissipated and the hand-signals from the three in the corner stopped. Emerald, shifting herself to further protect the pair of royals before instantly shifting herself into a salute.

"Yes, Pink Diamond."


	8. Chapter 7

Stability

**Chapter 7:**

"I've watched this foolishness for far too long now." The woman in pink stated as she stepped into the room, heels clacking on the ornate floor as she calmly stepped forward. "The council has spoken and these gems shall not shatter on this moon." Sapphire carefully raised her head, still in shock, Ruby being similarly petrified as she gazed in awe at their savior who then proceeded to drop her stern expression and wink with a goofy grin on her face for a mere split second, her actions nearly missed as Ruby blinked.

"But-!"

"Enough! Stand down Corporal." Said woman quickly stiffened in her salute as she sheathed her weapon and lined up with Emerald, "I've already sent Citrine to go about her own business, but that gives no excuse as to _why _her orders were ignored by you, Hematite."

"I was instructed to see that the escapees did not succeed in _their _mission, I heard nothing of a change in plans," The gray gem stated, trying to keep her voice steady as her fists shook at her sides in anger.

"Well the Princesses are here for a reason no?" Hematite looked away, a dark blush slightly showing on her face. "In any case, the council, obviously, met without my knowledge and, therefore, without my disapproval which gives us an even vote." Ruby quickly spared a glance at Sapphire in disbelief as the Corporal chattered around in the background about the duo's resistance. The blue gem turned to look at Ruby, a blush marring her face as she took in the ebony-haired gem's awe-filled stare, metaphorical stars in her eyes as she held her look of hope. Sapphire then brushed her bangs out of her face, pausing to allow Ruby's gaze to shift to her exposed face.

"Thank you..." Ruby started laughing as the blue gem ducked her head in submission, flushing as she quickly shot her a glare that was obviously meant to mean 'don't laugh at me', but only made her look like a wet kitten.

_"__Where did that thought come from?" _Ruby asked herself briefly before running her hands through Sapphire's soft, blue hair with a grin.

"Where did you get the idea of that being some 'big reveal'?"

"Well uh, it was- uh...if you're just going to make fun of me-"

"I think it's cute, the cool, collected Sapphire blushing like a newly-made gem", the bluenette's face flushed even darker at the comment, their faces get closer and closer, the both of them getting caught in the relief of the moment as they savored their newly-formed bond and this tender moment. Sapphire closed her eyes as a burning warmth came nearer and nearer to her face and-

**"****Ahem!" **The two broke apart in a mere moment, Ruby breathing a bit heavier than normal, both feeling their hearts hammering in their chest. Sapphire quickly turning to stand at attention as they were addressed by the Corporal. "If, you two are done, 'having a moment', it is about time we get down to business, yes?" The two blushing gems quickly nodded their heads in near unison as everyone was escorted from the room. Sapphire gazed at the two royals with the shaking pearl as they seemed to engage in a somewhat silent conversation, her interest had been peaked and she resolved to find out later…

_ "If I'll even get a later..." _She brushed the thought aside as they all continued down the hall. Her face still flushed from the earlier gestures and the current connection of their hands, which was creating an odd sensation of cool flames on her skin. Her mind, quick to wander back towards what had almost happened mere moments before. She wondered what it made her and her new fiery friend, she wondered if they were even friends in the first place. Perhaps she simply felt drawn to the red gem because they were so differing in...everything. From color, to temperature, to demeanor, even to their clothing and hair. They weren't like the two that trailed them now, one was cool, like her, while the other was panicky like a gem fresh out of the Kindergarten, or...a pearl. Could it be possible that the Quartz gem had once been a servant? Perhaps some sort of underling? Maybe it was simply her up-bringing… Not to mention the actions of the Lazuli, she questioned why there was even a title for such a gem, considering it was so rare and not at all a part of a category of gems; not like Quartz. The biggest question of all had to be what was going on with Rose being Pink Diamond. Yet it seemed all these questions were the farthest from her mind as her thoughts turned to Ruby.

Ruby. A hot headed gem that should burn her hand like a fire, yet only seemed to make her comfortably warm. She was unsure, unknowing, and-

Pink and blue mashed together like no element should as a beautiful figure was formed, tall and proud with...two gems? She gazed out from _her _eyes, _her _vision, as the rivers branched into seemingly endless possibilities before her, like a map that showed, not one, not two, but never-ending adventures that never made themselves too predictable; nothing set in stone. The smiling face of Ruby as they linked hands and questioned each other if they were ready. The same playful wink from Rose as they stood in a field with a few bushes growing small, red fruit. A tall green gem, a bulky orange gem, a slim blue gem and her white gem friend, and Ruby, all of them with a determined look that inspired her, lighting a fire in her eyes as they readied themselves for the oncoming-

Sapphire staggered as the images receded, her vision growing dark and blurry, tunneling in a way that only indicated collapse in both the tunnel of her vision, and her b..od..y…- **THUMP!**

** "Sapphire?!"**

**/**

"Ruby, it is alright, she only fainted again," Rose quickly assures before muttering, "She must have had another vision..."

"But-but-!"

"She'll be fine", Rose assured her, patting her squared afro with gentle motions, soothing the younger gem. The pink gem sighed as Ruby continued her fidgeting, holding the small, blue gem bridle-style despite it making the least sense considering they both were very similar sizes. Though seeing the doting look on the ebony's face was enough to keep anyone from commenting on this. A comforting silence soon filled the hall that only the sounds of echoing footsteps dared break. Despite the oddness of the situation and the many colorful characters now walking together, all differing in rank, personality, gem, and even color. Yet they had not broken into argument even once as once these facts were put aside, they were all simply gems. Gems that followed the Diamonds like they were deities and treated the choice few, such as pearls, like dirt. So, in truth, all gems were created equal despite that not being true on Homeworld. Tension brewing beneath the beautiful surface of the planet like a festering disease, doomed to destroy it as gems started to question why they followed these norms in their society blindly, without reason or right.

_ "Perhaps", _Rose mused within her head, _"That is why Sapphire always faints after seeing her visions, she is unprepared for a threat that has never come to mind, becoming over-whelmed at what will burn and what will fall; all of it already set in stone."_

_ "Perhaps that is why she always looks so terrified of the future..."_

_ "And why she is scared for the first time in her life because of it..."_


	9. Chapter 8

Stability

**Chapter 8:**

"Uh..Rose?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Why didn't you tell us about...uh-" Ruby trailed off, unsure of how to address the diamond in the room, questioning herself constantly for whether or not she should be using more formality. Ruby paused a moment, blanking-out as she became lost in thought. Rose didn't look like a diamond. They were tall and slender, with a very specific gem shape. They were big, demanding authority from all in the room in an eerily calm voice, an angered persona, or even just an air of mystery.

Ruby had never seen Pink Diamond, only catching glimpses of White Diamond. She only knew her own diamond, Yellow Diamond. She was still proper, but kept herself noticeably less composed, ruling with an atmosphere of what may come to those who disobey. Ruling with fear.

This vibe was common in the diamonds, but Yellow Diamond...she was scary. Anyone working under her was demanded to be tough and brutish, to do, or at least pretend to do, their work in a prideful manner; you couldn't afford to look weak under Yellow Diamond. Her command turning skittish gems like the pearl they had met, into gloating simpletons or unwavering individuals that constantly held themselves tall with an air of command.

Ruby herself, had not yet been authorized to join a squad of her own kind for just one reason, she wasn't proficient at fusion at all. No matter how hard she tried, even when she succeeded in melding with another ruby, it felt...wrong. With all that work, some dancing, some simply matching themselves up to a gem's state of mind, shouldn't it feel different? Special? I just felt like...being bigger. Sure, it was nothing to scoff at for a short gem like her but…

Ruby shook the thoughts from her mind. Gems assigned to her kind of work weren't meant to think such thoughts. Yet, she kept thinking back to the times before. She had once heard from her instructor that gems could do as they pleased once. Pairing-off with gems of other kinds even. _"Ridiculous"_, the others around her had said, Ruby guessed they hadn't seen the far-off look in their instructor's eyes though. Ruby could tell, even back when she was just made, when people were sad.

Perhaps it was something she developed over time, the instinct to search for emotion being common when meeting eyes with an opponent. Maybe it was just something every gem could see, they just never commented. Then again, perhaps it would be better if no gem could see such things if they do nothing to help. After all, the look in the older gem's eyes still haunted her to this day...as well as thoughts of lost love or friendship that came after gems started to be both assigned and **_made_** for a single purpose; regardless of thoughts or opinion. No different gems worked together. **Ever. **It almost seemed taboo at this point…

After all this, Ruby realized Rose was now staring at her, still expecting a question. She sighed, Sapphire's limp body drawing her attention as she asked her question.

"Why didn't you tell us you were a diamond?" Rose too, sighed as the underlying question was finally asked, then she...smiled?

"Because I'm not." At Ruby's skepticism and confusion, she continued, "I'm a liaison, a stand-in, if you will."

"Wha-?"

"It's simple, Pink Diamond is busy and I, as her most trusted and loyal Quartz soldier-" She almost seemed to be bragging, "Have been left in charge of her affairs, that is why the council is trying to decide things without **_my_ **input."

"They- uh..." The red gem stared up at the ceiling before looking away, "They can do that?"

"Yes, the council can do _**anything **_they want, they have a bigger claim to power than even the Royal Council."

"It sort of makes sense...Blue Diamond is head of the Royal Council, right?"

"Yes, but originally she was just meant to be a supervisor or glorified figure-head, though it seems that over time, through the game of political power, she has somehow come to be the head of it."

"So that means-"

"Yes. We are reaching the ends of our democracy."

/

_Fun facts:_

_Gem hierarchy isn't that complicated when compared to the DIAMOND Council. To put it simply, each of them heads a different section and each gem wears a symbol of that council member's color as a badge. Some gems even end-up serving different diamonds as occasionally, gems are switched to a different job based on necessity, newly discovered powers, mental prowess, etc. Below is a quick cheat sheet of the system, simplified, obviously._

_Yellow: Military unit, this consists of the main fighting force that is trained to fight or defend. Often grouped into different jobs like squads for scouting or guards._

_Blue: Servants to the Royal Council such as cleaners, builders, personal servants, personal bodyguards, etc._

_White: The science unit. Members of this unit are generally scientists as the experiments don't tend to have an active assignment. Most people outside this unit, which is heavily isolated, have no idea what goes on within; with the exception of the Diamond Council._

_Pink: Colonizers. Within this category are those that mainly in charge of finding and maintaining the colonization of a planet. They build warps, establish and run Kindergartens, etc. Working in the background of the fighters, they assure the planet can be claimed as quickly and efficiently as possible._

_Purple: Member of Royal Council, considered a noble. Not much is known about how these gems come to be a member or a noble; only that they section off by colors like the diamonds._

_Leaders (though not the only members of the council):_

_White (and colorless gems)- Angel Quartz (Very shy)_

_Blue- Lapis Lazuli (Strong-hearted)_

_Red- Cuprite (Quiet)_

_Orange- Carnelian (Very kind)_

_Yellow- Pyrite (She's smart but quite daft)_

_Green- Prasiolite (Laid back)_

_Purple- Azurite (Tries very hard)_

_Pink- Poudretteite (A real snob)_

_Black- Obsidian (Very fragile)_

/

Sapphire woke-up soon after that, a bit embarrassed by her repeated fainting but perfectly okay. She sighed, tomorrow she would have to report to Princess Lapis Lazuli and then be sent to court, this was her normal routine but now she would have to provide them with future events too? This was concerning to her, yet, as she sat in the garden, watching Ruby spar, she felt more content than she had in many moons.

She was still thinking about what Ruby told her though...about the diamonds… Democracy was ending? That was absurd. The council had always had control...of...oh. That's right, Blue Diamond was the head of the council. Although none of them were technically considered 'under her command', it was obvious who was the true leader.

Was it really the end of the life they've always known? Could that really be true? Though the visions came easier now, did she even want to know after the things she had seen? Not to mention whatever Rose Quartz was doing in that previous vision. There was going to be a war but with whom? The thoughts still ran rampant through her head as she said goodbye to Ruby and slowly walked home.


	10. Chapter 9

Stability

**Chapter 9:**

It's been a long time since they talked about it.

_That was fine though, _Sapphire continued to remind herself,_ it's like taking a break._ the sigh was just barely kept inaudible as they sat in council. It was a foolish notion, to simply denounce her existence and play council for awhile…

_ 'Ruby'_

"Sapphire!" She had zoned out. The quartz gem was waving a hand lightly in front of her face.

"Oh!" This sudden outburst seemed to frighten and embarrass the other gem, "My apologies, Pr- Lazuli." She didn't like the title as Sapphire recalled.

"That's alright, though I'm hoping you've heard us." _Something about...oh!_

"You were referring to our talks on the colonization, yes?"

"Correct."

"Just one question though, if this is a more local council meeting...why is she here?" Sapphire smiled during her asking so she didn't come off as mean.

"Oh, Angel Q-uartz?" The blue gem seemed to catch the casual nickname before finishing her thought, "She...well, she's more of a figurehead..."

"What?"

"Well...it's just, her 'clan' isn't so big, she's already had her gathering but their decisions really don't mean much and none of the gems in it are very important to begin with..." The white gem didn't seem to be offended but Lazuli seemed to send her an apologetic glance. "In any case, she's no real danger to us."

Sapphire wasn't really sure if that answered her question but didn't speak again the rest of the meeting, still lost in thought. When the meeting was adjourned, Lazuli pulled her aside again, telling the quartz to "meet her later".

"You're to report with us, right?"

"Yes, though they normally tell you if its a closed meeting, do they not?"

"Yes! uh- yes, I've just been a bit...absent, recently" Lazuli was blushing, since when did she do that? "Either way, I think they'd want you there anyway...I- uh, I just...wanted to ask something."

"What's wrong, you're normally more put-together than this?"

"Sapphire, if something happens to me...you'll lead in my place, right?" _What was she talking about?_

"What could ever hap-"

"**Please **Sapphire."

"...I, I suppose." The smile she got in return was the brightest she had ever seen, besides the one she gave the quartz before she left, leaving Sapphire to wonder what exactly she expected to happen as Lazuli ran off to find her friend.

/

Later on, although it was thought dull by other gems, she went to train. Sapphire had quite a few abilities she liked to hone in her free time, which is why she was out running with recruits. Though it had been a cause for frustration in the past, it was just a momentary build-up. After all, she was cool and collected, the ice.

She only wished she could continue with her instrumental lessons, fusion had always been a touch and go sort of thing for her as it seemed she didn't really meet many others of her kind and when she did they were often...rude? No, she couldn't go that far, but they were a bit...stand-offish. It was the logical thing to do if you weren't really up for that sort of thing, play the music to help others. Sapphire had once heard that the music would sort of, fill your mind without even a thought when you were good at fusion; 'newbies' couldn't really do that though.

Running always seemed to clear her head though, she was fast, even without her 'agility ability'. Even with her short legs, she always seemed to clear the track before the others, this made them mad. Made them think she was stuck-up for not talking about it, so no one really spoke to her. Except the jasper that trained them, that is. Though she seemed mean, as it turned out, she was rather sweet, affectionately dubbed 'Trix' by her underlings, though Sapphire couldn't figure out where the nickname stemmed from. She ignored Sapphire like the rest, but often looked a bit sorry for it.

If the sapphire recalled correctly, she had gotten her first vision after Jasper had frustrated her enough to have a bit of a breakdown. The blue gem was still pretty mortified that Ruby had seen this and constantly blushed at the thought.

_"__Together?"_

_ "Together!"_

_ The smile on her face as they clasped their hands together, the feeling of happiness when she came for you and was prepared to do anything to help you when you had only, really, just met. The laughs you wish to, someday, maybe share with her. That feeling of warmth in your chest-_

_**Crash!**_

"Oh-! I'm so sorry-!" The blue gem paled as she faced the one she had walked into, she must have the worst luck; to run into Ruby at a time of this much awkwardness.

"I-it's you…! I- uh...well" Sapphire took note of her blush as she scuffed her shoe across the stone underfoot. "It's...It's good to see you again?" It almost sounded like a question, the way the red gem stated the sentence so oddly, eyes flicking to the left and right as she seemed to be trying to think of something to say.

"It's good to see you again as well, Ruby." Sapphire responded, ever the calm one.

"I- I um...I meant to ask if- uh, well that is if you would-" The blush grew as Ruby seemed largely tempted to scream in frustration at her inability to state her mind.

"Yes?" The blue gem knew she was being a bit mean but she found the awkward ways of Ruby's speech funny, and a bit cute.

"W-would you maybe...uh, come with me somewhere, **not now! **But uh...sometime? Before I go?"

"Of course, I have a few things I'd like to discuss as well. Are you leaving for team assignment soon?"

"Y-yeah...I guess they either wanna get rid of me, or that fusion isn't required anymore…?"

"Having trouble?"

"Well, uh, I wouldn't say 'trouble'..." Sapphire giggled.

"Of course not, I'll see you later."

"Bye..." A small wave accompanied the send-off as they parted ways.

/

Saying the meeting was dull would be an enormous understatement, at least considering, at this point, the bluenette would rather be anywhere than where she was now. A thousand choruses and chords of arguments like off-tune music, weaved through the hall. She hadn't met a lot of the members of the Royal Council but she would surely consider this meeting **too soon.**

In fact, merely finding a tolerable member to sit by was a challenge all on its own, between Azurite and Cuprite's bickering with Poudrettite (who seemed to largely dislike pretty much everyone in the council room), Pyrite's non-stop discussion about resources, Carnelian and Prasiolite's pranks, and Obsidian's failed attempt at volume control; it was all a complete disaster to one's hearing and patience. Lazuli and the quartz were certainly the worst though, they never stopped trying to find excuses to leave and do who-knows-what at all times of the meeting.

Not to mention that even with all those voices and all that craziness, it was **still boring.** Even the servants occasionally stepping-in to bring things seemed bored to tears by the snippets they caught; no doubt hoping for more interesting gossip. Something about the servants seemed off too though...none of them had any prominent markings, sure they were sometimes rare but it was still a bit odd to notice; leaving Sapphire to wonder if they were all forced to cover them somehow. In either case, she still wondered why they even needed an entire caste to be primarily servants, Blue Diamond may be the true leader of the Royal Council, but that didn't mean she had the best ideas...though at least, unlike everyone else, it seemed, she kept quiet.

Sapphire had just about tuned out, watching Quartz interacting with Blue Diamond's pearl, when her name was finally mentioned. She held back a sigh and tried her best to keep her mind from wandering into the future, her visions **had **gotten better though, she no longer collapsed when they came. It was a useful endurance to have, considering how often they were now coming to her, as if every. Single. Choice. Made something she'd seen or would have to see, different. Though, for the moment, she understood time as a single path that could be guided by her wealth of knowledge; it was all the same no matter what. If it had something to do with the bluenette's visions only pertaining to big events, no one was really sure. So far, as it seemed, she was the only Sapphire it had happened to so far; she was patient zero.

In the end, the blue gem answered any questions offered, which were surprisingly scarce all things considering, and judged theories with either a nod or a shake of her head. When the meeting finally passed, she merely waited, watching as, one-by-one, the gems shuffled out. Lazuli taking Quartz's hand and leading her forward, Cuprite linking arms with Azurite in a rather familiar manner, Carnelian shooting a grin at Prasiolite, which is quickly returned, Blue Diamond calmly walking out, pearl in tow, and the last three simply leaving after all the others had.

(Sorry for no description on the council gems but I didn't want to do so many at once, you'll find visual aids on my archive of our own account: Sukila).

Sapphire wasn't sure what to make of the meeting, exactly. All she knew was that soon, all would go back to the way it was, she just had to wait until Ruby left; then everything would be normal. Still...she dreaded this time because it left too many questions in her mind, questions of why she felt such a need to see her. Questions of when she would ever see ebony-haired gem again once she left.

Such things would have to wait, however, she **had **said she would meet Ruby to talk about...well, all this. After that, then she would simply return to her routine, her harp, and her running. Because everything would be fine, she'd stop feeling so...like this, soon enough.


	11. Rewrite in Progress!

For all those that loyally awaited a continuation and/or rewrite;

I have began the rewrite. You can find it under "Stability (Rewrite)." Thank you for sticking with me so long, I hope I can make you proud.


End file.
